Michael Kanaan has helped a wide swath of decision-makers better grasp the nature of AI. He has a knack for expressing complex topics in clear, accurate and succinct ways and many of us in the national security community have already had the pleasure of hearing from him in person or in conferences. His book, T-Minus AI: Humanity’s Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power, provides context and insights in a way that can help concerned citizens and business leaders better grasp the issues of AI. He gives us all a call to action to learn more because as he makes clear in the book, the countdown to AI is actually over. In this OODAcast we explore a bit of what makes Kanaan tick, and dive into his motivations for this book. We discuss what citizens should know about AI and what business leaders can do to prepare their companies for success in the coming age. You will find Michael to be very plain spoken. When asked to define AI for us, he approached it in a way we have never heard before, starting with a reminder that on the Internet CATS are everywhere so he wants to use that as an acronym/nemonic. CATS is a reminder to always consider that when a person is talking about AI they may be referring to a Concept, and Application or a Techniques. So when you hear someone talk about AI, be sure to know which the speaker is referring to. We especially loved at the 10 minute mark in the discussion when he put AI into the context of the OODA loop. He thinks of AI as best in the observe and orient side of the OODA loop, since this is AI doing what it does best, but wants the decide and act part of the decision process to always be a human job.  We tend to agree of course, except in use cases where humans have decided the machines are ok to act. We asked Michael his views on the security if AI and coming issues of the threat and ways to mitigate threats to AI. His view: just like building trust with humans, we need to build trust with AI, and it will take time to do that. Michael's Bio: Michael Kanaan was the first chairperson of artificial intelligence for the U.S. Air Force, Headquarters Pentagon. In that role, he authored and guided the research, development, and implementation strategies for AI technology and machine learning activities across its global operations. He is currently the Director of Operations for Air Force / MIT Artificial Intelligence. In recognition of his fast-rising career and broad influence, the author was named to the 2019 Forbes "30 Under 30" list and has received numerous other awards and prestigious honors--including the Air Force's 2018 General Larry O. Spencer Award for Innovation as well as the US Government's Arthur S. Flemming Award (an honor shared by past recipients Neil Armstrong, Robert Gates, and Elizabeth Dole). Kanaan is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and previously led a National Intelligence Campaign for Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria and Iraq.

Jim Miller has worked for four decades on a combination of private and public sector initiatives focused on addressing a wide variety of national security threats.  He has held numerous positions within the Department of Defense including serving as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and has been awarded the DoD's highest civilian award four times. In this OODAcast, we discuss a wide variety of topics including: How to use red teaming to plan for emerging threats and opportunities How to bridge the gap between planning and execution Lessons-learned from 40 years of working with top strategists and thinkers Developing a new generation of experts to inform policy and strategy How the first DoD Cyber Policy was developed and how it contributed to addressing the cyber threat Emerging national security concerns and the global threat landscape Official Bio: Jim Miller is President of Adaptive Strategies, LLC, which provides consulting to private sector clients on strategy development and implementation, international engagement, and technology issues. He is a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, and is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations. As Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from May 2012 to January 2014, Dr. Miller served as the principal civilian advisor to the Secretary of Defense on strategy, policy, and operations, working to strengthen relations with allies and partners in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and to reduce the risks of miscommunication with Russia and China. He served as Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, from April 2009 to May 2012. For his accomplishments, he was awarded the Department of Defense’s highest civilian award, the Medal for Distinguished Public Service four times, twice by Secretary Gates, and by Secretaries Panetta and Hagel. He also received the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Joint Distinguished Civilian Award. Dr. Miller was present at the creation for CNAS, serving as Senior Vice President and Director of Studies from 2007 to 2009. He previously served as Senior Vice President at Hicks and Associates, Inc. During the 1990s he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Requirements, Plans, and Counterproliferation Policy, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Duke University, and senior professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee. Dr. Miller received a B.A. degree with honors in economics from Stanford University, where he played tennis for a team that won several national championships. He earned Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Additional Resources: OODA Network Interview with Jim Miller

Chet Richards was a close associate of the late US Air Force Colonel John Boyd. He was there as the concept of the OODA Loop was being developed and constructed the first graphics of the OODA Loop from sketches Boyd drew. Chet is the author of the widely read business book "Certain to Win" which was the first book to describe Boyd's strategy in terms familiar to business leaders and show how the OODA Loop and associated Boyd concepts apply to today's business problems. Business is not war, but in its most competitive state it is a form of conflict, with companies seeking advantage in bringing products and services to market better and faster than competitors. If you dig beneath Boyd's war-centered tactics you find a general strategy for ensuring your business is the one that wins. This fact is the entire reason our company, OODA, and this site, OODAloop.com, was named as an homage to this operational decision-making model. Boyd never wrote a business book himself, but he read and commented on every version of this book's manuscript till his death in 1997. Chet has consulted with a number of aerospace and professional services companies and has lectured at the Air War College and the Army’s Command and General Staff College. In this OODAcast Matt Devost and Bob Gourley ask the questions they have always wondered about Boyd and Richard's creative processes, their interactions with other great thought leaders, the relation of the OODA model to the writings of business strategists and how it inspired others like Tom Peters, and the power of building a trust-based network of peers. Additional Reading: Certain To Win book Chet's Blog  

Courtney Bowman leads Palantir's Privacy and Civil Liberties Engineering Team. In this capacity he works extensively with local, state and international governments and philanthropic partners to develop technology-driven solutions to information sharing needs that respect applicable privacy, security and data integrity requirements. He does so in a way that is informed by experience and well thought out approaches that we consider an exemplar for tech firms, enterprises and government data strategists. In this OODAcast we examine some of his approaches. Our discussion covered ethics, compliance and security in the modern age including a deep dive into approaches to managing data in a crisis. Through it all, Courtney provides insights that make it clear that privacy and ethics do not need to be placed at risk, even in a major crisis. Key to safeguarding privacy and security of data is having a well thought out data strategy focused on the right objectives, backed up with a secure data architecture. For more on Courtney and his views on the ethics of data in crisis see: Best practices for using data during a crisis The Architecture of Privacy: On engineering trustworthy safeguards

Kevin DeSanto is an investment banker delivering advice and execution assistance to high growth businesses preparing for M&A and financial transactions. His company, KippsDeSanto, has developed a reputation for trusted execution support for companies in government contracting, aerospace, defense and cybersecurity. He leads teams that advise senior management, boards of directors and shareholders. The art and science of this type of investment banking can only be perfected by experience and Kevin has just that. In this OODAcast we tapped into his experience to bring out lessons relevant to any CEO seeking to build future value and prepare for future events. This includes getting Kevin's insights into the best way to prepare for due diligence assessments. For more see: KippsDeSanto Kevin DeSanto on LinkedIn

Bradley Rotter is a visionary investor who has pioneered investments in many new alternative investments classes including having been an early backer of hedge funds in 1982 while speculating on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He was also an early investor in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency ecosystems and at a dinner with OODA CEO Matt Devost in 2012 predicted Bitcoin would exceed the price of gold. Bradley moved to San Francisco in mid 80's to be close to the technology fountainhead of the Bay Area. In 1995 he was famously quoted saying "this internet thing is going to be big" and this vision guided his investments in several successful technology companies. Bradley has made numerous VC and PE investments, with a particular focus on internet and technology and spanning from hedge funds to satellites. This wide ranging conversation hits on multiple high tech topics including quantum computing, crypto currencies and the data analytics. Additional Reading: Quantum Computing Sensemaking Is Quantum Computing Ushering in an Era of No More Secrets?

Andrew (Andy) Lustig is a partner at the high tech law firm Cooley, where he focuses on private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions and the general corporate representation of high-growth technology companies in both the commercial and government marketplace. His practice includes a wide range of industry sectors including information technology, national security, cybersecurity, data analytics, software and telecommunications. He also represents a number of leading venture capital and private equity firms. Cooley is widely known for their work with high growth tech and life sciences companies, and Andy brings his deep experience in a wide range of issues to this discussion. He discusses his views on things CEOs can do to prepare for growth, including things to do to prepare for due diligence. He also discusses the a CEO focused networking activity he helps lead called Mission Link (CEOs looking for more insights on this should contact Bob at OODA LLC and we will get you more information). Andy is well versed in technology and its mission impact. We discussed state of the art tech including capabilities in the domains of cybersecurity, communications, space, IT, quantum computing and IoT. For more see: Andy Lustig on LinkedIn Cooley OODA Due Diligence Services  

Paul Pagnato migrated from a career as a scientist looking for life in outer space to one of the top financial advisors in the U.S. with a keen eye for tracking innovation, exponential change, and other emerging global issues. He is also the author of the recent book, The Transparency Wave, which highlights the essential role that transparency plays in future innovation and entrepreneurial success. Paul A. Pagnato is Co-Chairman Cresset, Founder PagnatoKarp, a top family office and private wealth management firm with over $9.5 billion assets under management.¹ Paul is a top advisor with more than 27 years of industry leadership, ranked #1 in Virginia on Forbes Top Wealth Advisors and #2 in Virginia on Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors lists. PagnatoKarp is Best Multi-Family Office ($2.5B to $5B AUM/AUA) by Family Wealth Report Awards and a Virginia Business Best Place to Work. Paul is also founder of the TrueFiduciary® Institute, a non-profit with a Massive Transformational Purpose of positively impacting one million lives through digital education and True Fiduciary® standards of exponential transparency, targeting the well-being of students, individuals and advisors. Paul has been advising clients for more than 27 years, specializing in CEO Founders, entrepreneurs and UHNW families. Paul spent 19 years with Merrill Lynch, where he founded the Washington, D.C. Private Banking & Investment office. He began his career as a microbiologist with NASA and McDonnell Douglas working collaboratively to search for life in outer space. In this OODAcast we tapped into Paul's extensive background to seek insights relevant to decision-makers building high growth companies. We also dive into his newest book, The Transparency Wave, where he examines how in a time of exponential growth across multiple sectors, those who fear transparency are doomed to remain in the past. Paul provides example after example of how exponential growth is here now and how transparency provides significant advantage to any organization in this new domain. For more see: The Transparency Wave Pagnato Karp

Bill Crowell is a senior executive with extensive experience in government (rose to the level of Deputy Director of the National Security Agency) and in industry. He has been a CEO of leading companies like Cylink, taking them through growth to acquisition. He has been a director of multiple public and private companies with a track record of steering firms to profitability and successful exits. He continues to serve on corporate boards while also helping steer successful operations at one of the most famed Venture Capital firms in the nation, Alsop-Louie. Bill has been a boss, mentor, friend and advisor to both Bob Gourley and Matt Devost through the years, and has long been a valuable member of our OODA Network. In this video we ask Bill for insights of use to firms seeking to evaluate a business prior to acquisition, specifically seeking to do a better technology due diligence assessment. Bill provides insights on due diligence relevant to startup firms seeking VC investment, growth firms seeking funding to accelerate market penetration, and established firms seeking a private equity backed transaction. For more on these topics see: Bill Crowell on LinkedIn Alsop-Louie Partners OODA Due Diligence Consulting Lessons Learned From a Decade of Technology Due Diligence Consulting